Eat the Rich: A Treatise on Economics

PJ O'Rourke manages to bring to life in a way so many economists fail to do, and lays a solid foundation of economics while he's at it, in plain language. Most of the chapters detail the economic distasters and successes in a compare/contrast style, highlighting the major differences in law and economic principles resulting in these differences. In Chapter 6, From Beatnik to Business Major: Taking Econ 101 for Kicks, O'Rourke states, with clarity, ten principles of economics. This chapter alone pays for the book. It breaks down basic principles into easy to understand paragraphs, with examples. The book as a whole is amazing. It crams so much into a little book. O'Rourke provides real world examples, such as the successes of Hong Kong (pre-China) and Wall Street, as well as failures such as Albania and Cuba, along with the hard to determine if it's a success or not Russia, to illustrate economic principles.

After my interest in economics was spiked by Freakonomics, I began to look at other books on the topic. Eat the Rich is one of the best books I have read on the topic since. O'Rourke skillfully takes us through several countries looking at Good Capitalism, Bad Socialism and everything in between. His insight and witty one liners make the read fast, fun and extremely enjoyable. While some may find it offensive, I found it hilarious. Anyone with an interest in economics, or those just looking for a laugh should hurry and pick up this book. CFW

P. J. O'Rourke makes economics interesting...by citing real life examples from his travels rather than engaging in a boring exercise of describing some economic theory. The pages of the book spring to life.I read this book prior to visiting Tanzania, one of the countries visited by O'Rourke, and have reread it many times since my visit. The details covered are well-researched. I picked up things after rereading the chapter that I had missed before.I recently attended a conference on global affairs hosted by the World Affairs Council in Monterey. The conference was dull in comparison to this book.For those who might find O'Rourke's conservative conclusions a bit extreme, I would suggest skipping his concluding chapter and focusing in on his case studies. The facts, as they say, speak for themselves.

Economic theory is based on ...theory, and is often wrong. O'Rourke, not a posterchild for higher education, skipped the classes and took a round the world tour to find which economic systems work and which don't. He visited Sweeden, Albania, Tanzania, Russia, Hong Kong, plus others and then described his experiences. In some places wild dogs ran the streets beneath his hotel room, in others people spent their day sleeping under their broken-down cars, and in most places alchohol was used liberally. I liked the book because I was an economics major and found real-world tour of economic systems refreshing. It was like touring another country each night without leaving my bedroom. The book was also really funny. Quite enjoyable.

As supply increases prices fall; the demand curve moves in inverse proportion to supply; and economics is as dry as the bleached bones of Adam Smith. At least that is what you were lead to believe by that stringy-haired Marxist who taught ECON101. In his humorous, pointed and informative treatise, "Eat the Rich", P. J. O'Rourke has contravened at least one rule of economics - He has established that it is by no means boring. Indeed he has elevated it to a spectator sport.In "Eat the Rich" O'Rourke builds economic theory from keen observation of various governmental, social and economic systems. He begins with the bustling center of American capital, Wall Street, where he vividly describes the chaos inherent in the capitalist system. In the course of his exposition of the money capitol, he notes that he found the one thing he never expected to find, "Transcendent Bliss". Yet transcendent bliss does not seem so far out of line when one considers that John Locke, an eighteenth century political philosopher, concluded that the right to property was the guarantor of liberty, and Thomas Jefferson took the notion a step further equating it with happiness. While O'Rourke clearly expounds such economic truisms he manages to avoid the ponderous philosophic explanations constraining most commentators.From Wall Street "Eat the Rich" visits Albania, Sweden, Russia, Tanzania and Cuba. The description of each country is on-the-mark. In his description of Moscow, for example, he notes, "The traffic signals are timed to let three battalions of crack airborne troops and a hundred missile launchers through before the yellow caution light comes on." The reader can imagine the old Soviet Politbureau directing traffic from their platform in the event of an electrical outage. He shows how the absence of the rule of law in that country has lead to the rise of the Russian Mafia - "The only way to enforce a contract is, as it were, with a contract--and plenty of enforcers. What would be litigiousness in New York is a hail of bullets in Moscow. Instead of a society infested with lawyers, they have a society infested with hit men. Which is worse, of course, is a matter of opinion."The romp through each country shows a different side of economics. In Albania it is capitalism in anarchy. In Sweden it is socialism in a stable, moral society. In Cuba it is the worst of all worlds. Yet all the pictures placed side by side, clearly illustrate that a stifling of individual liberty (including property rights entailing an incentive to work and invest) will make a nation poor. Indeed, this descriptive collage goes further to show what Adam Smith and classical economists ever since have endeavored to explain - Money is not wealth, the wealth of a society is inherent in the goods and services it produces, and sufficient production only occurs when there is an incentive to produce.O'Rourke spends a few chapters explicitly